10. Mr. Potter - It's A Wonderful Life
Played By: Lionel Barrymore Compared to James Stewart's eternally loveable George Bailey, anybody could look like the worst person in the world but Lionel Barrymore's Mr. Potter is the epitome of greed and spite. It's A Wonderful Life offers no backstory for Mr. Potter so there is nothing to familiarise or sympathise with, he is simply the antithesis to the warm-hearted Bailey. Mr. Potter's evil does not exist in death or harm but in old-fashioned manipulation and control of the little guy. He's a man that stands for everything I find repulsive: Capitalist greed, spitefulness, oppression of the working man and so on. The worst thing about Potter is that he gets away with his actions without consequence.
9. Nurse Ratched - One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Played By: Louise Fletcher The tyrant of McMurphy's mental institution is the most famous female villain in movie history. Nurse Ratched shows no mercy to her patients who are treated as prisoners in a Class A facility. She has a demonic presence that is completely loathsome and she is one of the most hated characters in cinema that has nothing at all to like or sympathise with. Nurse Ratched exerts her authority like a totalitarian dictator, all who oppose her are crushed and silenced - she's essentially a female Pinochet if he took control of a mental institution. Ratched is a symbol for 'The Man' and the belittling power of corporate capitalist greed over the lower social classes of humanity. She possesses all the traits of a classic villain - she's mad with power, cruel and vindictive, but what sets her apart from other villains is her gleeful sadism - she is cruel simply because she can be. Her mannerisms and distinctions have become much parodied over the years - a true sign of a great movie villain.
8. Norman Bates - Psycho
Played By: Anthony Perkins Hotel owner Norman has a special relationship with his mother, as most people know due to the endless parodies and fame of the Alfred Hitchcock classic. Norman is initially unassuming which makes his evil that much more penetrating. He is, to put it mildly, a messed up young man who killed his mother and then embodied her personality in truly horrific fashion. Norman seemed like such a shy, polite boy who your mother would be happy you brought home, only he's utterly insane and for 1960 the film and the character were way ahead of their time. Psycho was a landmark for cinema as it broke taboo's and showed contempt for dearly held American values, launching a new era for the horror genre. Anthony Perkins gets the honest awkwardness just perfect so as to disguise the true horror and menace of the character that becomes unveiled to its full extent in the final act. Norman Bates is a monster of cinema who has entered pop culture lore and has become an icon of horror.